Overlord Manga Reading Order — The Complete List
The main Overlord manga — written by Kugane Maruyama (丸山くがね), illustrated by Fugin Miyama (深山フギン), with character designs by so-bin — tells the story of Momonga (later Ainz Ooal Gown), a salaryman trapped inside the body of his undead online-game avatar after the game’s servers shut down. MMORPG stands for “massively multiplayer online role-playing game” — think a huge online world where thousands of players create characters and play together. Instead of logging out, Momonga finds himself ruling the Great Tomb of Nazarick in a strange new world.
If you’ve never encountered the term before: “isekai” is a Japanese genre where a character is transported from the real world into a fantasy world. That’s exactly what happens to Momonga here.
Here’s the full volume-by-volume reading order for Part 1 of the manga:
- Overlord, Vol. 1 — Momonga stays logged in as the game YGGDRASIL shuts down; he wakes as Ainz Ooal Gown in a world that shouldn’t exist, surrounded by the NPCs (non-player characters — game-controlled beings) of his guild base, who have somehow become living, thinking people
- Overlord, Vol. 2 — Ainz ventures outside Nazarick for the first time and encounters the new world’s inhabitants
- Overlord, Vol. 3 — Conflict with the Sunlight Scripture, a militant religious order; Ainz begins establishing his presence in the new world
- Overlord, Vol. 4 — The Floor Guardians — powerful beings who each protect a level of Nazarick — deepen their loyalty to Ainz; he explores his role as ruler
- Overlord, Vol. 5 — Shalltear Bloodfallen, one of the Floor Guardians, becomes a major focal point as a threat emerges from within Ainz’s own ranks
- Overlord, Vol. 6 — The aftermath of the Shalltear storyline; Nazarick’s power structure solidifies
- Overlord, Vol. 7 — New characters and political factions in the surrounding human kingdoms enter the picture
- Overlord, Vol. 8 — The Lizardman storyline unfolds as Nazarick turns its attention to the demi-human tribes
- Overlord, Vol. 9 — Continued expansion of Nazarick’s influence over neighboring territories
- Overlord, Vol. 10 — Intrigue deepens in the human kingdoms as Ainz’s actions draw attention from new power players
- Overlord, Vol. 11 — Ainz’s reputation spreads; tensions between the surrounding nations escalate
- Overlord, Vol. 12 — The stakes rise as multiple factions — human, demi-human, and Nazarick’s own forces — collide
- Overlord, Vol. 13 — Escalating conflict and the consequences of Nazarick’s ambition
- Overlord, Vol. 14 — Major battles and turning points reshape the political landscape
- Overlord, Vol. 15 — The story pushes toward its Part 1 climax
- Overlord, Vol. 16 — Consequences of Ainz’s choices ripple outward across the continent
- Overlord, Vol. 17 — Approaching the endgame of Part 1’s narrative
- Overlord, Vol. 18 — Penultimate volume of Part 1
- Overlord, Vol. 19 — Part 1 concludes
Overlord, Vol. 19 (manga)
Key things to know about this list:
- Part 1 is complete at 19 volumes. You can read straight through without worrying about an unfinished story — it reaches a definitive stopping point.
- All 19 volumes are available in English from Yen Press. Volume 19, the final Part 1 volume, released on October 15, 2024.
- What’s the difference between Part 1 and Part 2? The main manga wraps up its initial run at Volume 19. A sequel series called Overlord New World continues the story with its own separate volume numbering. Think of it as a sequel manga, not a direct continuation of the same numbering. If you see “Overlord Vol. 1” and “Overlord New World Vol. 1” side by side at a store, they are two different series — start with the original.
- How to identify spin-off manga: Spin-off titles like Overlord: The Undead King Oh! and Overlord à La Carte offer comedy and side-story content. You can spot these easily — the main series is simply titled “Overlord, Vol. X” on the cover and spine, while spin-offs always have a subtitle after “Overlord.” These spin-offs are optional and can be read at any point after you’re familiar with the core cast. They’re fun supplements, not required reading.
The simplest approach: read volumes 1 through 19 in order. Done. Everything else is bonus material you can explore afterward.
Why Reading Order Matters for Overlord
When you search “Overlord manga” on a bookstore website, you’ll see the main series alongside comedy spin-offs and anthology collections. They all say “Overlord” on the cover. For a newcomer, it’s easy to accidentally grab a spin-off comedy volume thinking it’s the main story, or to pick up an Overlord New World volume without realizing it’s Part 2 of a much longer saga. Stick to the numbered main series volumes — the ones titled simply “Overlord, Vol. X” and illustrated by Fugin Miyama — for your first readthrough.
Understanding the franchise structure helps explain why this confusion exists in the first place.
Overlord didn’t start as a manga. The story originated as a web novel (a story published online, chapter by chapter, for free) by Kugane Maruyama. It was then published as a light novel series — “light novels” are a Japanese publishing format, typically short novels with some illustrations, aimed at young adult readers. The manga adaptation began in June 2015, and an anime adaptation followed as well. That’s a lot of versions of the same story floating around.
The manga is a condensed adaptation. It takes the light novel’s dense worldbuilding, political maneuvering, and inner monologue and distills it into a visual medium. Some content gets abbreviated or cut entirely. This isn’t a criticism — it’s what happens when you adapt prose into comics. But it means the manga tells a tighter, faster-paced version of the story compared to the source material.
Understanding these layers saves you from two common mistakes: starting with spin-off material that assumes you already know the characters, or jumping into Part 2 without the 19 volumes of context that precede it.
Do You Need the Light Novel First?
Short answer: no. The manga stands completely on its own as a reading experience, and it’s a great entry point into the Overlord franchise.
Longer answer: it depends on what kind of reader you are.
What the Manga Does Well
The manga excels at visual spectacle. Fugin Miyama’s artwork brings Nazarick’s gothic architecture, the grotesque beauty of its Floor Guardians, and the large-scale battles to life in ways that prose simply can’t replicate. So-bin’s original character designs translate beautifully into the manga’s panels.
Action sequences hit hard on the page. When Ainz unleashes high-tier magic or when Guardians like Shalltear and Cocytus (an insectoid warrior who guards the Fifth Floor) enter combat, the manga gives those moments real visual weight. If you’re someone who gravitates toward art and visual storytelling, start here.
The pacing is also more accessible. The manga moves through storylines — sometimes called “arcs,” meaning a self-contained chunk of plot within the larger series — faster than the light novels, which means you get to major plot developments and payoff moments sooner. For readers who want forward momentum, that’s a plus.
What the Light Novel Does Better
The light novels are where Overlord’s legendary worldbuilding lives in full. Maruyama is meticulous about the political structures of the new world, the game mechanics underlying Ainz’s abilities, the psychology of his former-NPCs-turned-living-beings, and the strategic thinking behind every move Ainz makes.
A lot of Ainz’s internal monologue — where he’s basically panicking behind his undead skull face while everyone around him assumes he’s a genius — gets reduced in the manga. That gap between his terrified inner thoughts and his imposing outer appearance is one of the series’ best running jokes, and the light novels milk it for everything it’s worth.
If you love deep lore, political intrigue, and want to understand why characters make specific decisions at a granular level, the light novels are unmatched.
The Recommendation
Visual-first readers: Start with the manga. Read all 19 volumes. If you fall in love with the world and want more depth, the light novels will be waiting with hundreds of pages of additional content per storyline.
Lore-first readers: Start with the light novels if you have the patience for dense fantasy prose. Then read the manga afterward to see your favorite scenes illustrated.
Either path is valid. There’s no wrong door into this franchise. The manga is not a lesser version of the story — it’s a different version, optimized for a different reading experience.
Which Edition Should You Buy
The English manga is published by Yen Press, with all 19 volumes of Part 1 available. Volume 19 released on October 15, 2024. Here’s what you need to know about your options.
Physical Volumes
The standard English release comes as individual volumes roughly matching the Japanese release. These are the standard-sized manga volumes you’d find on any bookstore shelf.
Pros of physical:
- Fugin Miyama’s detailed artwork looks gorgeous on paper
- Building a physical Overlord shelf is satisfying (19 spines look great lined up)
- Easy to lend to friends
- You own the book permanently — no digital licensing concerns
Cons of physical:
- 19 volumes takes up real shelf space
- Can be harder to find specific older volumes in stock at any given moment
- Heavier to carry if you read on the go
As of this writing, there don’t appear to be omnibus editions (collected volumes that bundle multiple volumes into one thicker book) or special box sets for the English manga release. If that changes, Yen Press would announce it on their official website.
Digital Volumes
Available on platforms like Kindle and Kobo (an e-reader and digital bookstore platform). Same content, different delivery.
Pros of digital:
- Instant access — no waiting for shipping or hunting for stock
- Zero shelf space required
- Often slightly lower list price than physical editions
- Can read on phone, tablet, or e-reader anywhere
Cons of digital:
- Detailed manga art can feel cramped on smaller phone screens (tablet or larger screen recommended)
- You’re buying a license, not a permanent physical object
- Harder to share with others
One note for digital readers: if you’re using Kindle, the Kindle app on a tablet (like an iPad) gives a much better manga reading experience than a standard black-and-white Kindle e-reader. The larger screen and higher resolution make a real difference with detailed artwork.
Which Format for Overlord Specifically?
This is a series where the art deserves space. The battle scenes, the detailed character designs, the sprawling shots of Nazarick — all of it benefits from a larger viewing area. If you go digital, read on a tablet rather than a phone. If you go physical, you’ll get the full impact of the artwork without any screen size compromises.
For readers who want both convenience and visual quality, buying physical for your favorite volumes and digital for the rest is a perfectly reasonable hybrid approach.
What to Know Before You Start Reading
Starting a 19-volume manga series can feel like a commitment. Here are some things that’ll help you enjoy the ride.
The Opening Is a Slow Burn — That’s Intentional
The first couple of volumes spend significant time establishing the Great Tomb of Nazarick, introducing the Floor Guardians, and setting up the rules of the new world Ainz finds himself in. If you’re expecting wall-to-wall action from page one, you might feel impatient.
Stick with it. That worldbuilding pays off enormously as the story progresses. Every Guardian introduction, every detail about Nazarick’s structure, every hint about how this new world works becomes important later. The series rewards readers who absorb the setup.
Ainz Is Not Your Typical Fantasy Hero
This is important to know going in: Ainz Ooal Gown is not a straightforward good guy. He starts as a sympathetic character — an ordinary person in an extraordinary situation — but increasingly acts as a villain. He’s an undead overlord whose subordinates commit genuinely terrible acts, and he often enables or ignores that violence to further his goals.
The series has a darker tone than most fantasy manga. It deals with conquest, manipulation, and the collateral damage of power wielded without moral restraint. That’s a feature, not a bug — it’s what makes Overlord distinctive — but it’s worth knowing upfront so the tonal shift doesn’t blindside you.
Savor the Art
Fugin Miyama’s artwork is densely detailed, especially during action sequences and full-page illustrations where the art extends across an entire page or across two facing pages. Don’t speed through the battle panels. Some of the best moments in the manga are visual — a Guardian’s entrance, a spell being unleashed, the sheer scale of Nazarick’s forces — and they reward close attention.
If You’ve Seen the Anime
The manga covers similar storylines to the anime adaptation but with different pacing and visual presentation. You’ll recognize the major plot beats, but the manga often lingers on moments the anime condensed and vice versa. It’s not a panel-for-panel recreation of what you watched — think of it as a separate adaptation of the same source material, with each version emphasizing different details.
Reading the manga after watching the anime can actually enhance your appreciation of both. If you’re wondering where to watch the anime, all four seasons are available on Crunchyroll.
The Story Continues
Part 1 wraps up at Volume 19, but this is not the end of Overlord’s manga adaptation. Overlord New World continues the story as a separate series. So when you finish Volume 19, you’re not hitting a dead end — there’s more to look forward to.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Overlord manga volumes are there?
The main manga has 19 volumes completing Part 1 of the story. All 19 are available in English from Yen Press. The series is ongoing — Overlord New World (Part 2) continues the story as a separate series with its own volume numbering.
Is the Overlord manga finished?
Part 1 is complete at Volume 19. The overall story is not finished — it continues in Overlord New World. So if you read all 19 volumes, you’ll reach a meaningful stopping point, but there’s more story ahead.
What is the difference between the Overlord manga and light novel?
The manga (illustrated by Fugin Miyama) is a visual adaptation of the light novel (written by Kugane Maruyama). The light novel contains significantly more worldbuilding detail, character inner monologue, political intrigue, and strategic depth. The manga condenses that material into a faster-paced visual format that emphasizes action and character design. Both tell the same core story, but the light novel goes much deeper.
Should I read the Overlord manga or watch the anime first?
Either works. The manga and anime are both adaptations of the same light novel source material. The manga offers more detail per storyline than the anime in many cases, while the anime adds voice acting and music. If you prefer reading, start with the manga. If you prefer watching, start with the anime — all four seasons are available on Crunchyroll. Many fans enjoy both.
Are there Overlord spin-off manga worth reading?
Several spin-off manga exist, including comedy-focused titles like Overlord: The Undead King Oh! and Overlord à La Carte. These are optional — they’re fun supplements for readers who already love the characters and want lighter, more humorous takes on the Overlord world. Read the main 19-volume series first, then explore spin-offs based on what sounds interesting to you. None of them are required to understand the main story.
Where does Overlord New World fit in the Overlord manga reading order?
Overlord New World is the Part 2 sequel series that picks up after the main manga’s 19-volume run. Read all 19 volumes of the original series first, then move on to Overlord New World. Do not start with New World — it assumes you’ve read everything that came before.